More alarmist than helpful, and even at that, middle graders are unlikely to find anything new here to fret about.
A grab bag of global concerns and trends.
This slim survey has evidently been designed to shake young audiences out of complacent expectations of growing up to a serene future. It offers superficial pictures of four general issues—increasing population pressures, immigrants and refugees, tourism and online connectivity, and economic globalization—plus a roundup of impending worldwide threats such as climate change and pandemics. Along with laying out causes and consequences for each anxiety producer, Dickmann repeatedly asks readers whether local agendas should trump broader ones in order to get to the main message that any real solutions are only feasible through international, or at least collective, cooperation. But she leaves to others practical strategies for achieving any such in the face of real-world parochial politics, pervasive racial and ethnic prejudice, self-interest, and shortsightedness. She points instead to organizations like the U.N., makes facile suggestions (“Can you plant [a tree] at home or at school?”), and inserts vague prompts to buy local and like bromides. The boxed narrative blocks are placed over generic montages of maps, charts, and photographs, with some diversity of skin color and national origin visible among the rare human figures that aren’t obscured by angle or distance. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More alarmist than helpful, and even at that, middle graders are unlikely to find anything new here to fret about. (glossary, resource list) (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78312-654-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Welbeck Children's
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
In this glossy photo essay, the author briefly recounts the study and exploration of the moon, beginning with Stonehenge and concluding with the 1998–99 unmanned probe, Lunar Prospector. Most of the dramatic photographs come from NASA and will introduce a new generation of space enthusiasts to the past missions of Project Mercury, Gemini, and most especially the moon missions, Apollo 1–17. There are plenty of photographs of various astronauts in space capsules, space suits, and walking on the moon. Sometimes photographs are superimposed one on another, making it difficult to read. For example, one photograph shows the command module Columbia as photographed from the lunar module and an insert shows the 15-layer space suit and gear Neil Armstrong would wear for moonwalking. That’s a lot to process on one page. Still, the awesome images of footprints on the moon, raising the American flag, and earthrise from the moon, cannot help but raise shivers. The author concludes with a timeline of exploration, Web sites, recommended books, and picture credits. For NASA memorabilia collectors, end papers show the Apollo space badges for missions 11–17. Useful for replacing aging space titles. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57091-408-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
Thousands of years ago, the Komodo dragon may have inspired dragon legends in China and beyond. In more recent times, researchers from all over the world have traveled to the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia to study the Komodo dragon. This lively if somewhat haphazardly organized account focuses on the efforts of contemporary researchers, presents some of their cooler findings (female dragons can reproduce through parthenogenesis; their saliva is laced with deadly bacteria) and profiles a few captive specimens. Mostly color photographs from a variety of sources adorn almost every page, and captions add to the information. Learning about the Komodo dragon is not for the faint of heart, and the photos show the wild beasts in all their gory glory. The extensive backmatter includes brief facts about Indonesia, more information on the Komodo dragon life cycle and its use of smell and conservation information. A portion of the sales will be donated to the Komodo Survival Program. (bibliography, further reading, glossary, websites, index, author’s note) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-757-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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